Fallen by Lauren Kate

Book: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Release Date: December 8th, 2009
Source: Won from Ellz Reads
Summary:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school in Savannah. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are screwups, and security cameras watch every move.

Except Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce -- he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Review: Fallen is dark, mysterious, and interesting (despite it's flaws).

When Luce shows up at Sword and Cross, she makes only a few friends, and a couple instant enemies. Yet, she can't seem to stop thinking about Daniel (even if he is a complete jerk to her....repeatedly. But that's the new "sexy", right?), but then there is nice ol' Cam (maybe I'm the only one that gets the "creeper" vibe off this guy?). Needless to say, she's got herself in one interesting love triangle that I couldn't tear myself away from. Add to that the mysterious shadows that Luce always sees, and quite a few more interesting moments (and accidents) at Sword and Cross, and you've got yourself a page turner. I'd say more, get a bit more detailed, but then I'd ruin the entire plot.

While I enjoyed the story, there were some flaws and inconsistencies. Despite this, the writing is wonderfully addictive. The story is intriguing, and I never really knew just what was going to happen next, which is fun for a reader like myself. 

Fallen weaves mystery, intrigue and shocking moments into one enchanting story. I was shocked quite a few times.

Highlights: The description kept me interested, and it was an easy novel to lose myself in. The pages kept turning and turning until I was done, and I was surprised at how quickly I finished. This is just one of those novels that keeps you curious, keeps you wondering, which was a definitive plus. Lauren Kate's writing is just my style, so I'll definitely be excited for the second installment, Torment. 

Lowlights: A lot of emphasis was placed on looks. "He's so hot, sexy...His smoldering eyes...blah, blah" (this is a generalization) -- Obviously, this wasn't working for me. Who cares if he's hot? Is he a nice guy (not at first)? Is he a good guy (questionable)? Sometimes I wanted to slap Luce, because she really focused too much on a pair of guys, and neither were really interesting beyond the looks department. I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing more about these two guys, development-wise.

Also, security was almost a joke in this novel. The teens ran off whenever they felt like it, and never got caught. They tamper with the security cameras, without consequence. How about some realism here?

In the end, I really enjoyed the story, as long as I didn't think about the details and just focused more on the story and the writing.

Rating:   3.5 out of 5